Bigham House located at 655 Pennridge Road in Chatham Village

Chatham Village

Chatham Village is a community within the larger Mount Washington neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh, and an internationally acclaimed model of community design. Chatham Village Historic District, is a historic district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is roughly bounded by Virginia Ave.,...

, in the Mount Washington

Mount Washington (Pittsburgh)

Mount Washington is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's south city area. It has a zip code of 15211 and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by both the council members for District 3 and District 2 .It is known for its steep hill overlooking the Pittsburgh skyline, which was...

 neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, was built in 1844. This was the former house of abolitionist lawyer Thomas James Bigham (1810-1884), and was "purportedly a station on the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

". These days, this Classical Revival

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 house is part of Chatham Village

Chatham Village

Chatham Village is a community within the larger Mount Washington neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh, and an internationally acclaimed model of community design. Chatham Village Historic District, is a historic district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is roughly bounded by Virginia Ave.,...

 and is used as a community clubhouse known as Chatham Hall. Chatham Village

Chatham Village

Chatham Village is a community within the larger Mount Washington neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh, and an internationally acclaimed model of community design. Chatham Village Historic District, is a historic district in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It is roughly bounded by Virginia Ave.,...

 is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Landmark District, and this house was individually added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 1990.